Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Bugbane Pollination Results

If only the common name Cat's Tail wasn't already taken. Bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa, has started blooming pretty good. The picture above is a few weeks old but this is blooming good, it's fragrant and my dreams of this being a good nectar source are completely dashed.

What the hell are these things? Crane flies? These pretty little mosquitoes don't seem to suck your blood so that's a plus at least. (Maybe there's blood inside the plant?)

Actually they're have been identified as Toxorhynchites rutilus according to BugGuide.net. I read they're a male and a predator to mosquitoes.

A couple of sweat bees and a bumblebee or two use it regularly too. But the over all pollinator seems to be tiny fruit flies to small for me to photograph accurately.

So the search is still on for a full shade plant that gets a lot of bee activity. So far though Clethra alnifolia is the only one that comes to mind.